My inverts are molting alot. Is this normal?

[illuminum]

I've had my inverts for a month, maybe less. I have 4 blue leg hermits and one cleaner shrimp. In this short time, I know 2 hermits have molted and my cleaner just molted today.

Is this any indicator that there are some paramaters that are off whack in my system? My temperature is higher than normal but I'm slowly reducing the temperature back down to 76-77Ã"šÃ‚º F


Thanks in Advance

 

[Lev F.]

It may be that you have too much Iodine. Iodine causes molting. Do you does Iodine?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I would actually slowly increase your temperature to the 80 range and keep it there. Inverts such as those listed often molt with stress. The temperature coupled with something else could be causing it. What are your water parameters

 

[Airman]

Molting is good it show that your tank is healthy things are growing.

 

[Pandora]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6602625#post6602625 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Airman
Molting is good it show that your tank is healthy things are growing.

This is true when it is done at a normal rate. But Dragonet_dude is right, if you overdose iodine, you can cause them to molt too much; toxic levels change their metabolism and will expend their energy to molting so much that they can die.

I can't say if this case is a normal or abnormal rate based on what was said alone, because as far as we know, the crustaceans could have just been coincidentally molting anyway; a change in conditions alone could stimulate them to eat more, etc. In order to plot a rate, you need 2 points in time, and as far as you said, you have only seen each individual molt no more than once.

 

[illuminum]

Thank you for your input everyone. I haven't dosed any iodine into my system. I had the tank up at 82 degrees to deal with some ich. It proved to be unsuccessful, so I just started using a product called sano last night, which seems to be working great. It's supposed to be safe for all tank inhabitants so I don't think that would be causing anything.

I'll take some parameter measurements when I go home.

So should I remove the molted exoskeletons from the tank or should I just leave them be?

 

[Paintbug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6603350#post6603350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by illuminum

So should I remove the molted exoskeletons from the tank or should I just leave them be?

just leave them be some thing from the clean up crew should get them and theres nutrients in the molts they can use.

 

[davocean]

My shrimp molt about once a month, I think that's pretty normal.
If you were dosing iodine you would want to be careful,as pandora said.
Warmer temps seem to speed up molting according to the lobster fisherman here.
I never remove exos. they're usually gone in a day or two